Oshakati bank bomb remembrance is therapeutic

The annual commemoration of the deadly bomb blast that killed civilians going about their business at the Oshakati Barclays Bank 26 years ago helps to heal the wounds. This is the view of the Law Reform Development Commission Chairperson Sacky Shanghala during yesterday’s commemoration of the Oshakati bomb blast that killed 27 people and left many more injured on February 19, 1988. Shanghala, who lost his mother in the blast, said people commemorate the event every year so that those who were affected directly and indirectly can share memories as part of the healing process. “You never grow out of such pain and everything and anything can trigger it. At times, to many of us, it is as if the tragedy happened just yesterday. It is a lifelong process that we need to get through it together.” Yesterday’s commemorative event was once again held in front of the monument erected at the town’s Inland Revenue office in honour of the victims. Oshana Regional Governor Clemens Kashuupulwa told those present that the memorial service is an occasion to remember those who fell victim to the “ill-conceived and murderous lifestyle of the apartheid system”. “This day that brings us together reflects the unrecorded circumstances that many of our brothers and sisters might fallen in scenarios that were hidden from public domain or notice,” said Kashuupulwa. He added that the bombing was a barbaric attempt to derail Swapo’s efforts in gathering the momentum for independence. Kashuupulwa spoke in length of the suffering at the hands of the South African regime. His remarks were made despite continued insistence by the South African authorities that Swapo was behind the bomb blast. “May it impress upon us that the greatest homage we can pay to those who died in the bomb blast is to work together for a peaceful and prosperous society based on the principles of unity, equality and reconciliation,” said Kashuupulwa. The event was attended by survivors of the attack, religious leaders - including Bishop Josephat Shanghala, whose wife died in the blast - traditional leaders and local authorities. OSHAKATI MERJA IILEKA